The Evolutionary History of the Antarctic Flora ...

How long has the extant flora been present in the Antarctic? Glaciological reconstructions propose that most areas in Antarctica were covered by thick ice sheets throughout the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~22-18 kya) as well as previous glaciations, suggesting terrestrial life must have been extremel...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Biersma, Elisabeth Machteld
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.16667
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/269736
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Summary:How long has the extant flora been present in the Antarctic? Glaciological reconstructions propose that most areas in Antarctica were covered by thick ice sheets throughout the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~22-18 kya) as well as previous glaciations, suggesting terrestrial life must have been extremely limited during these periods. In contrast, recent biogeographic and genetic studies support most extant groups of Antarctic terrestrial fauna having survived past glaciations in situ. However, studies on the origin and age of the Antarctic flora remain sparse. Applying population genetic, phylogeographic and divergence time analyses I assessed the global biogeography, origin and age of several abundant Antarctic moss species, including: four Polytrichaceae mosses, characterised by having bipolar distributions, the most common (~45% of species) distribution pattern amongst Antarctic mosses; the globally widespread moss Ceratodon purpureus; the bank-forming moss Chorisodontium aciphyllum, also known for its old ...